How to Make a Thrifty Knock-off Outdoor Candle Chandelier

Over the weekend when I wasn’t working on my bathroom makeover, I started on a bit of Inside-Outside decorating on my deck so I can enjoy it more during the summer. I love to be outside and am always on the lookout for outdoor decorating ideas. I love looking at the pages of home furnishing catalogs this time of year for inspiration.

I like to keep things simple, but make my outside space look inviting and comfortable. To get the look I am after and not spend too much, I bring my inside decorating accessories outside for a thrifty makeover. Everything can easily be brought back inside when not in use. My newest additions are the green tablecloth, the Le Creuset pitcher, and a cheap – o fake brass chandelier that I picked up at my favorite thrift store. The tablecloth I am using as is and I transformed the chandelier to make it an outdoor candle chandelier and hung it from the pergola.

The chandelier cost me $5.90 minus 25%; it was on sale. The candles cost more than the chandelier. I bought them at Walmart for $2.88 each. I am excited to sit out here in the evening now. The candles will add to the mood when we are eating alfresco or I am enjoying some quiet time on the swing with a good glass of wine.

This is what it looked like right after I brought it home from the thrift store. I like the fact the candle bases are wide. When the existing electrical sockets are removed a pillar style candle will sit nicely on these bases.

Before

I removed the candelabra covers and stashed them safely away as they are in perfect condition and I can use them on other fixtures. I cut all the wires from the center of each candle socket and then removed the socket. They just unscrewed. Easy.

It was easy to unscrew the top section from the bottom of the main body of the chandelier. I cut all the wires and pulled them through the chandelier to remove them, then screwed the chandelier back together again.

This is the pile of electrical guts I removed. See the price tag – $5.90 minus the 25% – I know I told you that already, but I love the fact that the thrift store discounts their already low prices. :)

To keep the base of each arm on the chandelier intact, I needed new screw- nuts, but my hubs said he could just cut each socket screw off with tin snips. I needed that bottom nut to screw back on.

If you don’t have tin snips – you will need to buy nuts that fit over the screws on each arm of the chandelier. You can see the section that was cut off from the socket. I also thought I could cover the screws with a blob of hot glue to hold them in place if I could not find nuts to fit.

Screw the nut back on over the existing arm screw. I had to slightly bend each base so it was level.

Repeat the process on all the arms and it is ready for spray paint.

I used one quick coat of Rust-Oleum metal primer because this is going to be outside and I wanted the finish to be as durable as possible.

Then I sprayed a few coats of Oil Rubbed Bronze on it to finish.

It goes nicely with my Walmart outdoor sideboard.

I bought the green linen tablecloth for $2.90. It is extra long and was the perfect fit for the dining table on my deck. The Le Creuset pitcher was $5.00.

The throw is from my family room. When we are outside at night it can get a bit chilly, so this is nice to have. I made the pillows and no-sew cushion last summer. My party baskets are in easy reach and at the ready. Now all I wish for is a laptop with a screen that can be easily viewed outside. I would love to be able to work out here – that is the only thing that is stopping me.

Have you decorated the outside of your home like the inside? If you have I would love to see your photos as I would like to add them to my Pinterest board.

Comments

Making outdoor decor is SO much more fun and satisfying and unique than store-bought! Your chandelier is wonderful.

I put a bowl-type candle holder into a decorative birdcage for my “chandelier”.

I have a ’70s-style chain swag hanging light fixture where the socket points DOWN. Does anyone have any thoughts on how I can rig up a candle holder in this? I was thinking maybe wire and a tuna can, but I’m open to suggestions. Thanks in advance.

Hi Anita – Your chandelier sounds very unique – love it…doing things in your own style. Wiring something to the socket sounds like the way to go so that the candle will be upright. It could be anything from a wire basket, mason jar, or as you thought a tuna can. You could make the wire holding up whatever you use in curli-cues so it becomes part of the design.

Just finished this project for my pool patio! I hung mine from a crabapple tree branch that shades the dining table. The metal dining table and chairs just got an update with paint too! I recieved the FREE chandy when my parents upgraded ! Cheap is GOOD, FREE IS BEST!

this is such a great tutorial, i like DIY projects where its easy, fun and affordable to do and this definitely fits my criteria! really like your deck and pergola, was it built by yourself or you hired a contractor to do it?

Thanks – I designed the deck on paper and then took the drawings to the Home Depot where they put it into their computer and a 3D design was produced. The print out also figured out all the material we would need. My husband built it. It is 17 years old. When we built it the Chippendale style railings were not available to buy, so I drew the design to size on a large piece of paper and my husband used it as a template to cut each piece of wood and fit each Chippendale section together. The Home Depot print out did not give us that part of the design. I posted a photo of it being built in this post.https://inmyownstyle.com/2010/04/the-backyard-in-my-head.html

i never knew that home depot offers 3d rendering services, thats quite convenient. another tool thats good for 3d design is google sketchup if you’re interested to use in the future for other design renderings. How long was the whole process to built the deck and what type of wood did you use for your deck? For our own deck, it took about 2 years to built b/c its covering a pretty big area and we used composite wood for the side deck (which we love) and back yard deck we used pressure treated wood (which we regret b/c it gives you splinters).

Building a nice deck definitely takes a long time but hey….in the end is all worth it right! and that’s the beauty of it! don’t know how you feel about posting link but i think this would be a great addition to your deck for cool summer nights (www.eieihome.com/blog/let-s-talk-patio-heaters.html) we have one of these on our deck and we love it. Hope you’ll like it too! :)

Love your outcome. I am working on an outoodr candle chandelier that my mom gave me to hang over my outside table & chairs. I found a design inspiration from Ryan Gainey’s book “The Well Placed Weed” pg 140 where he attached a chandelier to a tree using a rope & pully system. The idea is that you haul the chandelier up when you entertain and release it down when the weather is bad. Mom says I need to rustoleum the chandelier. The hanging equipment and rope cost around $140.00 which I purchased from Home Depot. I purchased the pillar candles from Hobby Lobby for about $26.00 for seven candles. My mother says that I need to get a candle votive cover to cover the candles when I am using them so that the wind doesn’t blow them out. Does the flame on your candles blow out when you are using them outside? I’ve looked for covers on the internet but haven’t found any. I guess I could use LED pillar lights. Any thoughts? Thank you. P.S. Hobby Lobby also has some really pretty iron & stone tables to use outside at great prices!

Wow what you are creating sounds really amazing. I wish I had a big tree in my yard, but I don’t. My candles blow out when it is very windy – like a storm is brewing. Where my deck is and the chandelier hangs is protected by my house and a line of tall pines. Most nights so far this summer have been humid and still. I have looked into the battery operated candles at WalMart and have heard great things about them. I may try one to see what the light looks like. They would be the perfect answer for you as they look exactly like candles and won’t blow out. Another option would be to add some sort of hurricane over each candle arm, but that takes away from the natural simplicity of the candles.

We get to live outside for only a few short months so I try to make the space as comfy and pretty as possible without spending too much. Now it is so hot during the day to go outside. I have to wait until the evening when it cools off. The candles do add the perfect ambiance.

Hi! I love your outdoor space. Will definitely use the technique for the no sew cushion! I love the outdoor sideboard…can you give me any information on when you bought it at Walmart? Online or in store? I need one and it’s perfect!

I bought the sideboard a few years ago in the store. I do not think it was part of the Better Homes and Garden line. I wish I had the info on it, but I don’t. I looked on it to see if there were any kind of labels or manufacturer’s marking’s, but there isn’t. It comes apart really easily for winter storage and is super lightweight. I don’t think Walmart carries it anymore, but they may have something like it as they do seem to carry similar items year to year.

Oh my goodness! I’m SO excited to have discovered your blog!! I absolutely LOVE the outdoor chandelier!! I’m going to keep my eyes open for one of those lovely “brass” ones at my local thrift store. Super!

Cheap but elegant chandeliers, lamp shades, coffee tables, and wind chimes are four of my DIY plans for this summer. I have many projects (for my living room and bedroom) to do this time around – now that I have more time for myself. My house and garden need some makeover. This type of DIY would be a great help for me.

Great post! I’ve made so many of these types of chandeliers! I’ve re-wired a bunch of them, so that I can plug them in outside (instead of them being wired in the house). I just use an extention cord, cutting and re-wiring it that way! I made 4 of them for our daughter’s wedding last fall….we had a huge tent on our property and a little barn to light up! It was wonderful! I’d love to make one with just candles, but we have too much wind here on the coast!

love this idea. WE always have such a strong breeze here I am not sure I could keep the candles lit but am wondering if there is a way to maybe glue some glass shades on to protect the flame a little. I have the chandy in the basement- just need to get the details worked out!

Yes, I bring them in. It gets too hot during the day out there and they would just melt, plus if it rained they would get all wet. I keep a big wicker basket inside by the door. I use it to collect the pillows, throw, and candles. It is really easy to just place them back out when I go out and the basket looks pretty just sitting on the deck.

It is always so hard to imagine that the hemispheres are totally opposite of one another. Here in the north we are opening up our homes and serving Margaritas and in the south you are closing up and making hot soup. I hope to travel there someday.

Do you have an inspiration file? So when it comes time to decorate each space in your home -you will have all your ideas at the ready. Have you tired Pinterest yet? That is my new place to put all the ideas I want to do someday or just dream about. It is addicting, but such an inspiring place to hang out online.

Thanks. Don’t you wish there were a few more hours in each day so we could get all things we want to do done? Some techy person needs to come up with an app that will add magical hours to our days with a press of a button. I would be the first in line to buy it.

I thought at first that you were showing an inspiration picture of how you want your back yard to look! It looks so beautiful! Magazine quality I’d say! So inviting and yet fun. Did you buy the battery operated candles?

No I didn’t, but I did look at them. They were a bit more costly so I went for the less expensive option. If it were really windy on my deck I probably would have splurged on them. I do like seeing the real flame on the candles – adds a warmer glow.

I love it! I have a couple of chandaliers upstairs in the attic (removed from various locations in the house) that I want to incorporate in my outside decor and this post just reaffirmed that! Your outdoor area is just lovely and so inviting.

The chandelier is great! It’s perfect for outside. I have a candle one already but have been searching thrift stores for one for a friend and not having much luck. All the ones I find are $50 or more and we want cheap like your’s. Guess I’ll just have to keep looking….. Your whole outside space looks so nice….I’m very jealous.

Thanks. I had been looking for sometime, too. Most of chandeliers don’t have the big candle base that I wanted or like you noted are too expensive. Thrifting is such a hit or miss pastime, but you know eventually you will find exactly what you are looking for.

Try http://www.freecycle.org in your general area. Often times people will have chandeliers in their basements or garages that they haven’t thrown out for some reason and would welcome the idea of giving it away to someone who could use it.

Hi Lesley-
I had to smile after reading your comment. The neighborhood I live in is called Winding Brook, but when the bulider’s were building the houses they dubbed it Windy Brook as gets very windy at times. My deck is blocked by the house, so it is pretty still. If is was windy – I would get the battery operated candles so I could still have the look, but not have to worry that the wind would keep blowing out the candles. They sell them at Walmart, too.

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I love all things creative, colorful, and DIY. It is just the way my brain is wired. I can’t add 2+2 to save my life, but I can help you decorate your home in a style that you will love…YOURS! Click to: Read More